Video games probably don't trigger violence, but I recall seeing a study that found video games desensitize people to violence. IIRC the military has been using FPSs lately to desensitize soldiers-in-training.

Blaming video games has since long become book burning of 21st century.

Video games are great for developing imagination, and other creative qualities (not as good as reading though, ofc), in my opinion. And if your kid shoots up a school after playing some GTA - it's the bringing up and education to blame, not Rockstar Games.

AFK: Attack, fight, kill! Healer is bored with spamming hots.
WTF: Way to fight! Healer loves you for pulling three trash packs.
OOM: Out Of Mobs! Healer needs a challenge.

Could they? Perhaps in the case of someone mentally unstable who would be triggered by some form of simulated violence. The same argument has been brought up against books, music, and movies. As a society we've accepted the risks brought on by books, music, and movies--why haven't we accepted video games?

I don't believe that video games themselves trigger violence. Maybe in the fact that if you're sitting around all day playing video games, you will have a lot of built up energy and if you're a person who's already prone to spurts of anger or violence... well there ya go. But that can be said with reading all day, watching TV all day, etc.

When she was just a girl, she expected the world, but it flew away from her reach so she ran away in her sleep and dreamed of para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise every time she closed her eyes..

It might make a already unstable person worse, but then again a person like that could flip over other things.

"Heresy is like a garden weed, it won't stop feeding until you... BURN THE WHOLE DAMN GARDEN WITH A FLAMER, BURN IT, BURN IT TO HELL!!!!!" "Is there a wittle puppy in the garden? ITS A DAEMON! BURN IT!"

Well, if I was asked to name a country with a high amount of video games, I would say Japan.
And if I was asked for one with a series of restrictive laws banning violent video games, I would say Australia.
And if I was asked for a country that was so dirt-freaking-poor that nobody there could afford a console, or even a game, I would probably pick Ethiopia.

Do video games ruin the minds?
The UN uses an educational index, a score of 0 to 1, to rate countries by educational completion and expectancy. it is part of their Human Development Index.
Japan got a 0.880, 18th in the world.
Australia got a 0.977, third highest in the world.
Ethiopia got a 0.236, the fifth LOWEST in the world.

Do video games trigger violence?
The murder rate in Japan, per 100,000 people per year, is about zero-point-four. It is amongst the lowest in the world.
The murder rate in Australia is one-point-zero. Also, quite low, but technically higher than Japan's.
The murder rate in Ethiopia is twenty-two-point-five, which is high EVEN for Africa, the highest murder rate per capita continent.

Do video games spread stereotypical views of women?
I couldn't find anything good to numerically quantify this, but I did find some results.
In Japan, literacy for men and women are both 99%. Employed women earn about 28% less than men.
In Australia, literacy for men and women are both 99%. The salary gap is 16%.
In Ethiopia, literacy for men is 50.3% and women 35.1%. The salary gap is over 75 percent in urban areas and drops like a rock in rural ones.

So, could you argue that video games cause problems? Maybe. Can you argue that there are far stronger concerns that should be addressed? Hell yes.

"Do games have a negative effect on people?" or "Do games trigger violence?", which one is it?

If it's the latter, I would say definitely not. If anything, video games help "vent out" aggressive feelings and prevent them from building up, IMO.

If it's the former, I think video games can have some negative (non-violence related) effects on people. Procrastination, forgetfulness, decrease in productivity, health issues, etc. Of course I'm talking about extreme cases here.

My Gaming Setup | WoW Paladin (retired)"This is not a dress. This is a sacred robe of the ancient psychedelic monks."

Can only speak for myself, and over the years (don't know if related to playing video games with violence elements or perhaps it was a result of becoming more mature) my tolerance to violence, and likelihood to commit it decreased considerably.

Rincewind: Ah! We may, in fact, have reached the root of the problem. However it's a silly problem and so I am suddenly going to stop talking to you.